A Childish Devotion
by wishingwell41
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia never imagined that the child she once picked up in the woods would grow and fall in love with her. She can never age and is stuck at 16 forever. At first she's just his long term babysitter until he grows up and it turns into something more. Nalu forever. This will be fluffy
1. Chapter 1

**Narrator POV**

Lucy Heartfilia was only 16, yet she had a secret. Since she was little, growing had always seemed to be a challenge for her. On her sixteenth birthday,she froze in time, never to age again.

Since then, she has disappeared, but she decided to stay true to herself and stay Lucy Heartfilia instead of forging a new name.

Ever since, she had been moving around, babysitting for money.

One day, she was traveling alone on a road when a great dragon appeared. Upon seeing him,she felt her blood run ice-cold. She prepared her zodiac keys ready to fight if she needed to.

However the dragon, or rather Igneel deemed himself trustworthy and led Lucy to a cave where a young boy slept.

Igneel did not talk, but instead began to leave after showing her the child.

"Hey you!" She exclaimed, running after him, yet being knocked back by his swift tail.

Inside her head, a voice whispered"The boy",Lucy looked at the sleeping child then understood.

"You're going to leave him aren't you?" She asked in shock. She watched as the serpent looked back one last time, then lifted his powerful wings and soared away.

 **Lucy's POV**

I pitied the small child who lay sleeping, unaware that his protector had left him. I decided that it would only be fair to him if I took him with me to the next town, and found him a new family.

I made myself promise that I wouldn't become emotionally attached to this boy. After all, for a person who has no family, that happens easily.

It's been two years since I picked Natsu up out of that cave. Since then we've been inseparable. I decided it was best if I told him the truth, with a little twist. Igneel left because a mob chased him out of town and I found Natsu alone in the cave.

Since I'm so young, we have to pretend that I'm his long term nanny because otherwise they'll put him in foster care.

Natsu's seven now, and he's beginning to hit puberty. I noticed that lately he's been eating double the food, changing sizes in clothes like a banshee, and getting frustrating mood swings.

I also notice, he's been looking at me different. Sometimes, it creeps me out, because he goes into a trance of sorts. I think... I think he has a crush on me.

I mean, not that I'm surprised, I mean look at me. I'm Lucy, who wouldn't?

Anyways, back to the point, I know he'll get over it, he's just a little kid.

What I'm worried about is when he finally gets up a decides to leave me.

I don't think I could survive that.

He means too much.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Childish Devotion**

 _Chapter 2_

 **A/N: Hey guys so like I mentioned before, I will be updating once a week. Unless some of you decide to start reviewing and favoriting the story. It really puts a smile on my face. Anyways here you go, and I will possibly be updating again this week... **

Ten years have passed, and it's been five since Natsu left me.

He knew it would hurt me and yet he abandoned me anyway, taking my heart in hand.

Natsu claimed it was so he could become a better mage but I knew the truth. He was afraid, terrified of his feelings...for me.

I mean, it sounds gross and all because I was four years older than him, but we had a special bond.

Since Natsu was little, I could tell that he's had a crush on me. As he grew more mature, it became worse. Sometimes, it came to the point where I felt uncomfortable because of the age difference.

However, that didn't matter now, he was gone, and I wanted him back. I missed him, he was my only family.

I walked outside my current apartment and watched the falling sunset, and the rising moon. A perfect blend of golds, reds, oranges, and dark blue spreading through the sky.

I wondered what Natsu was doing now. Was he thinking of me?

I twirled my blonde hair between my fingers and sighed. Then, looking up at the sky one last time, I headed to my room, and fell onto my bed completely exhausted. Darkness overcame me in moments.

I awoke from my slumber when a tapping noise came from my front door.

Stumbling up, I grabbed my silk robe then turned the knob to the entryway of my house. In the doorway a blue cat sat, excuse me, stood grinning at me.

After rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, my brain became less hazy.

"Hiiiiiiii", the furry feline spoke with a cheesy grin on his face.

I felt my eyes roll back, and I sucked in a breath as I fell backwards.

Yet strangely, I never experienced the impact of my head hitting of the wooden floors. Still, I gladly sunk into the pitch black, recuperating from the trauma of hearing a cat speak.

Though enjoying the comfort of being in my own little world, I began to worry about how long I was going to be stuck there.

Finally, I began to hear bits and pieces of what was going on around me.

"Is...ok?"

"Is...her?"

"Yeah...that's her".

"What...you...do?"

"Wait for ... wake up."

The first speaking voice I noticed was male. Not a man exactly, but maybe a teen. The other I immediately recognized as the talking cat.

I had no time to ponder who the man was though. One of them touched me, and I felt a shock pass through my body, and I regained consciousness.

Opening my eyes, I see another pair, a green pair, in front of my face.

I looked down and tears clouded my eyes.

I knew, knew who was there, and it _hurt_.

It _hurt_ to know that he left on purpose and that it was OK leaving me. It _hurt_ that he thought he could just come back and believe everything was ok.

And I wasn't going to stand for it, this flame brain was not going to hurt me again.

Natsu was going to have to earn my trust, and maybe, just maybe we could return to what we used to be.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Childish Devotion**

Chapter 3

I've decided that Natsu is going to have to beg on his knees to please me. However,if he's still the same kid as he once was, that won't be happening unless he wants something _really_ bad, or he wants spicy food. So, I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Of course, the first thing to do is actually look at him and make conversation.

Finally, I have the courage to look up, and what I see breaks my heart.

My little Natsu is no longer there. He still has childish features on his face, but the rest of him...that's a different story.

When I first found Natsu he was skinny, but still underweight. While living with me, I made sure to take multiple jobs so that he could eat to his heart's content. I was always worried that one day his metabolism would stop working as well and that he'd get fat. Looking now, you would never know that he ate like a pig.

Natsu...well, he had definitely grown up. Just looking at him made me blush, then feel uncomfortable when reminding myself that he was like a little brother to me.

The man in front of me had chiseled abs, spiky salmon pink hair, and a _very_ muscular body.

Shaking my head to clear any inappropriate thoughts about him I waited, staying silent until he made the first move. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait very long.

Natsu moved and swiftly pulled me into a tight hug. I tried to think about how warm he was and how perfect the embrace felt.

Tightening his squeeze around me, he leaned in then whispered in my ear "I'm back Luce".

Anger flooded me and I pushed away from him, but it was no use because he gripped my hand and pulled me back.

I couldn't take it anymore and I finally let all my emotions poor out.

A sob ripped through me as I crumpled against his chest but his strong arms easily held me up.

"Why did you leave me?" I gasped out between hiccups, my mascara becoming runny.

Natsu snuggled closer to me and I forgot any anger I had for him as I felt his hot breath on my forehead, his hands kneaded my back calming and relaxing me.

"I can't tell you that yet." He whispered, and tried to clear his throat. "We'll save that conversation for another time".

" Oh god." I croaked, looking up I whispered, "You're so grown up. What happened to my little dragon?"

"Still here. Just older."he smiled.

Finally, I realized just how long we had been hugging and I let go reluctantly, scared that Natsu would leave again.

" You _lllike_ her" exclaimed the blue feline to Natsu, and I gasped forgetting that he was there.

"Shut up you stupid cat!"I yelled at him, feeling flustered and embarrassed. My cheeks growing warm and pink from the look the cat was giving me.

I felt ashamed as I watched him fly into the arms of Natsu, eyes overflowing with tears.

"Natsuuuu..." He whined, burying his face into his chest.

My pink haired weirdo signed and patted Happy on his head then looked to me. Of course I already knew what he wanted. Only my pride was standing in the way.

Pretending to not see Natsu's pleading look, I instead focused on Happy and began wondering how such an odd thing could be so emotional.

After much pondering I gave up and made a mental note to check with Gramps or the celestial spirit "Crux" to those who don't know him.

Sighing I looked to the Kitty then apologized with as much sincerity as I could.

"Happy. I'm truly sorry for calling you a stupid cat. I promise I didn't mean it."

I looked to wait for his answer and it reminded me of having to apologize to Natsu when he was little...

 ** _Flashback begins.._**

It was Father's Day. A perfect day with clear blue skies, a perfect temperature of 80*F, and a _very_ excited Natsu.

"Luce..."He whined annoyingly while we were on our way to the festival.

Knowingly I sighed, remembering that since our way of transportation was the back of a cart, he would grow green and have motion sickness.

I grabbed the pouting boy, and stuck the back of his head in my lap, then began massaging my fingers through his hair. I had learned this technique some time after I met him, after the disaster of him throwing up on my new Jimmy Choos.

Finally, as he began to cease his squirming, I was able to have some peace and quiet. Well...at least until we arrived to the festival.

Once out of the cart, Natsu went on a rampage. Challenging any person who stood in his path, gobbling up any food along the way, and wreaking havoc to the festivities.

Still I just stood there, counting down from two-hundred mississippi's until he would crash.

My assumption was correct, at the 199th count, he finally headed back towards me and plopped down into my lap.

Giggling, I began to massage his head again, and within seconds he knocked out.

Thankfully what I was leaning against happened to be comfortable, I also fell asleep quickly.

I wasn't sure how long I had slept for, but what I heard when I woke up broke my heart.

I tried to ignore the feeling of rejection as my beating heart quivered when Natsu murmured Igneels name and not mine.

Trying to hold the tears in, I began to wonder if he actually appreciated me.

For the last few years, I had been trying to take the place of mother and father for him. Apparently, it wasn't good enough because even in his sleep he was asking for his adopted father.

Natsu's eyes fluttered open, then grew wide as he sputtered out ,"Igneel! I need to find Igneel!"

"Igneels gone!", I exclaimed, anger evident in my voice. "He left you!"

I gasped, slapping my hand to my mouth, and panic began to set in as he ran away.

"Natsu!" I screamed, but it was too late, Natsu was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Flashback Continued..._**

I pushed myself through the crowds that were blocking the streets, searching frantically for my adopted little brother. It would be hard.. there was more than 6,000 visitors there, but I wouldn't give up!

Around me, there was joy everywhere. Father's hugging their beloved children, infants squeezing of laughter, love was apparent.

Usually, such a sight would be pleasurable to witness, but in my situation, it was anything but.

All I cared about was finding Natsu and apologizing for my childish outburst.

Continuing to make my way, beads of sweat began appearing on my forehead, and I stopped momentarily to wipe them off. After an hour of continuous searching, exhaustion finally catching up. As I caught my breath, I began strategizing how I would find Natsu.

Setting my mind to thinking like a child, I pondered where I would have hidden.

Some place a grownup couldn't find me. Somewhere alone.

Then, the idea came to me suddenly. I began running to where I first found him.

I felt stupid. Of course he would go back on Father's Day, he was looking for comfort. For his father.

The cave was a 20 minute walk away from the festival. That was walking; I was running.

As I continued my fast pace, my chest began to feel heavy and I became slower.

Wow. I was seriously out of shape. Since Natsu came to me, I had forgotten all about working out. I never needed to, Natsu was already enough of a workout.

Finally, I reached the all-too-familiar shape formations of the grotto from so long ago.

With my eyes adjusting to the pitch black, I searched in the darkness for any shape that remotely reassembled Natsu.

A soft whimper echoed through the cave, and I immediately recognized the voice.

"Natsu?"

A small shuffling sound grew distant as if Natsu were trying to crawl away.

The cave was naturally huge, it fit a dragon after all. Falling to my knees, I also began crawling through the cave hoping I would run into my fiery headed adoptie.

I stretched my arms out, padding my fingers along the cool ground like a blind man. The jagged surface scraping my skin, leaving cuts and broken skin.

Finally, I touched the spiky hair that I had been longing to feel.

Jerking back from my touch, I knew Natsu could see me. Yet, I couldn't see him.

Knowing that from his reaction he was still mad, I ignored it and fumbled around reaching for his waist then threw him over my back.

As he began to cry in protest I sighed and stood up, locking my arms tight so he couldn't escape.

I felt hope as I began to see a tiny speckle of light as I made my way through the cavern. Slowly I watched as it grew bigger, and bigger until I knew we were in the clear.

I began to blink furiously as my chocolate -brown eyes adjusted to the bright, stinging rays of the sunlight.

Looking behind my shoulder, I watched as Natsu looked at me with big eyes. Almost as if wondering, What are you gonna do now?

I knew it was time, time to apologize.

I reached up to take Natsu off my back, and let him down on his feet as gently as I could.

When you're an older role-model, asking forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do. You are admitting freely that you were in the wrong.

Quickly grabbing his hand so that he could not run away again, I used my free hand to cup his face gently.

His dark emerald eyes, so somber they appeared to be black, rose to meet mine. Captivating and beautiful, yet full of remorse at the same time.

When a single tear fell, I snapped out of my trance.

"Natsu." I cried, anyone could see how regretful and scared I was. Scared that he wouldn't accept, scared that he would leave me...

"I'm soooo sorry", tears were streaming down my face, and my nose was becoming runny."I never meant to say that. It's just..." I gulped before letting the truth spill out. "I love you so much, and I thought that you'd rather be with Igneel than me, and that you were going to leave me, and..." But I never did finish what I was going to say because Natsu quickly jumped on me, his little body squishing me.

"I love you too." He whispered. Then squeezed the living daylights out of me with his best bear hug.

And with that I started sobbing, relishing the moment.

 ** _End of Flashback..._**

"Happy. I'm truly sorry for calling you a stupid cat. I promise I didn't mean it."

After a few moments of pondering, the lynx seemed to make a final decision, and I patiently waited.

"Alright..I'll forgive you..", I clutched him with joy, twirling around while so.

" Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! " I squealed.

Then the cat had to open his mouth...

"If. You buy me a twenty pound fish."

There went the squealing.

"Twenty pounds?!" I screamed, dropping the Exceed along the way. Luckily for him, his wings appeared before he hit the ground, saving him a sore bum.

Apparently, Natsu decided it was time to cut in, and I hoped he would be on my side.

"Happy. Don't you think that's kinda weird? I mean... Why only twenty when you could ask for a hundred?!"

"Or a thousand!" Said Happy, anticipation in his eyes.

"Perfect!" Natsu exclaims back.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. GOD! I was stuck with a couple of idiots.

 **A/N: Hey guys! So sorry to have kept you waiting so long! Have a lot of personal issues going on right now. But that shouldn't be an excuse, so I'll update anyway! Make sure to review and favorite:)**


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